Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 29th May

In this bulletin…

- Thousands protest corruption in Yinghong;
- Chinese spouses in Taiwan seek equal rights; and
- Alert level raised on North Korea.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Thousands of residents from Yinghong Township in Guangdong Province were protesting corruption within the Chinese communist regime last week.

The protest resulted in clashes between the protestors and several hundred armed police, as reported by The Epoch Times.

The protest was triggered by a number of factors: CCP officials carrying out land seizures, the loss of retirement funds and subsidies and the recent arrest of three township officials on charges of embezzlement.

The town is home to tens of thousands of Vietnamese-Chinese who returned to China during the Sino-Vietnam war.

According to a witness, one female protester was killed in the clash and at least 100 were injured.

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In Hubei Province, Deng Yujiao, the waitress who stabbed one of two Party officials trying to rape her, has been released from a detention centre and put under house arrest, reports The Epoch Times. It is suspected the regime is yielding to public pressure.

On China’s biggest blog site, Sina, an article was posted calling for 100,000 people to run in support of Deng. The run is called, “The World’s First Unorganized and Disciplined Jog.”

The blog claims that more than 7,000 people in Beijing and over 5,000 in Shanghai have shown a willingness to join the run, and several hundred have planned to go to Badong during the coming week to show their support.

Because of widespread attention to Deng’s case, other activities of support for the communist official to be charged with rape are planned.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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In the city of Kaili in Guizhou Province, 21 students and three teachers from a private school in the Washington DC suburbs are being held in quarantine at a hotel for possible exposure to swine flu.

The students and teachers have been confined because a passenger on their flight from the US was suspected of having the swine flu.

On Tuesday, US officials stated that the passenger did not have swine flu; however the students and teachers remain in quarantine until Friday evening, leaving one day for students to tour the sites before their flight home on Sunday.

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In Taiwan, mainland Chinese spouses are seeking equal rights and to eradicate the discrimination they face when applying for work permits and Taiwanese ID cards.

Mainland Chinese face longer waits than other foreigners; eight years rather than four years for ID cards and six years for work permits rather than 15 days after entering Taiwan for other foreigner spouses.

The restrictions they face are intended to protect national security and to prevent false marriages which officials suspect mainlanders enter into to be able to live and work in Taiwan, which has a higher standard of living than China.

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You are listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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South Korean and US troops are on higher alert after North Korea states it will not abide by the treaty that halted the Korean War more than 50 years ago.

In response, Seoul will be increasing their reconnaissance operations over North Korea, stating that Watchcon II is in effect and that the five-stage combat alert level was at its second-highest stage.

According to South Korea’s defence ministry spokesman, surveillance over North Korea will be stepped up with more aircraft and personnel mobilized.

Although the North recently tested a nuclear device and several short-range missiles no significant troop movements within the country have been reported.

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And now for our Shen Yun Performing Arts quote of the day

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Mr. Geer, an engineer and photographer, was amazed by the amount of detail Shen Yun Performing Arts put into its 2009 Spring Tour presentation at the California Centre for the Arts.

He said there was an amazing amount of detail put together into a pattern – a big pattern. The skill of each detail was so precise and overall, you could see an almost kaleidoscopic effect going on. You can look at each dancer and watch all the beauty of just one dancer, or you could admire the whole beautiful scene.

Of the vocal performances, he said he was very impressed with the technical ability and especially the soprano. Saying her performance she shook the building, and was amazed by the power and technique of her performance.

SOH is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour; listen to our special coverage at sohnetwork.com.

For more information on the shows please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.

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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”